well my situation is i live overseas married to active mil. i want to file for a divorce but legal says i can't file here, but i can file for seperation. If i file for seperation will they then move me back to the states and will it help the divorce process? and when i go stateside will i have to be a resident in that state to file ( i'm from one state but my reserve unit is in another state so i think i'm a resident in both but not sure) i'm confused and when i try to get help from the legal office i don't get much of a response back so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Are you command sponsored at the overseas duty station, and you will have to find out about the state your a resident of currently, Driver's license would be the best bet as to which state. But there are usually exeptions for military members, but you will probably have to be seperated for a certain amount of time and that will probably be enough to establish residency in order to file.

I believe that your spouse under the SSRA has the right to demand that jurisdiction for your divorce be determined in the following order:1. The state in which he physically resides (not applicable as you live overseas)2. THe state in which he is stationed (again not applicable)3. The state that is his home of record (which will be the state he was a resident of when he signed on the dotted line).

He may not WANT to go with option 3 as it may be very inconvenient for him and you. He can agree to submit to jurisdiction elsewhere if you are a resident and want to move there for 6 months (roughly that is usually how long a person would have to live somewhere to divorce). If things are on speaking terms you might discuss it with him. Many states have a mandatory wait/separation time before you can divorce. Getting the separation might help you with that.

--------------------Forgiveness is...letting go of the hope that the past can be changed.

The act itself has been updated (2003), it is now called the Service Members Civil Relief Act (SCRA).

A major change provided by the SCRA is that it permits active duty servicemembers, who are unable to appear in a court or administrative proceeding due to their military duties, to postpone the proceeding for a mandatory minimum of ninety days upon the servicemember's request. The request must be in writing and (1) explain why the current military duty materially effects the servicemembers ability to appear, (2) provide a date when the servicemember can appear, and (3) include a letter from the commander stating that the servicemember's duties preclude his or her appearance and that he is not authorized leave at the time of the hearing. This letter or request to the court will not constitute a legal appearance in court. Further delays may be granted at the discretion of the court, and if the court denies additional delays, an attorney must be appointed to represent the servicemember.

Here is the entire law:

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/military/scratext.htm

The 3 residency options above seem to be for either the military member or the member's spouse and they allow for either to file. They do not seem to give the member the right to make the determination as to where the filing can happen, only to provide an option when neither is a resident of where the member is currently stationed and each state may be a little different.